Reducing Junk Mail
There are several ways you can cut down the amount of junk mail (75-95%) you receive. Americans receive about 560 pieces of junk mail every year -- 4.5 million tons! 44% of junk mail is thrown in the trash unopened. This consumes more energy than 2.8 million cars, uses 28 billion gallons of -- a 105,000,000 cubic meter lake, and uses 100,000,000 trees -- a 400 square kilometer forest. ----- * OptOutPrescreen.com - Used by the consumer credit card reporting industry to accept and process requests from consumers to opt in or out of offers for credit or insurance. You can use this website to opt out of receiving offers for five years or permananently. To opt out by phone, call 1-888-5-OPTOUT. * Green Dimes - Has both free and paid services to stop junk mail. GreenDimes plants trees on your behalf if you sign up for a paid service, which offers more protection than the free service. * DirectMail.com - Free service to remove your name from commercial mailing lists * Ecological - Mail Coalition - Helps businesses stop receiving catalogs, magazines, and bulk mail addressed to former employees. * Direct Marketing Association - Listing your name and preference to stop receiving junk mail will stop about 75% of all national mailings from coming to your house. Send a postcard with your name, address and signature to: Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 643, Carmel, NY 10512 or download the online form at http://www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglistdave. * Contact sweepstakes companies directly and have them remove your name and address from their lists: ** Publishers Clearinghouse, 101 Channel Drive, Port Washington, NY 11050 Phone: (800) 645-9242 ** Readers Digest, Readers Digest Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570 Phone: (800) 234-9000 ** American Family Publishers, PO Box 62000, Tampa, FL 33662 Phone: (800) 237-2400 * Catalog Choice - Opt out of receiving catalogs on a merchant-by-merchant basis. * 41pounds - Removes your name and everyone in your household from numerous mailing lists and direct mail companies for five years for a cost of $41. You can also update your address during this time if you move. 1/3 of the signup cost is donated to one of the following organizations of your choice: Trees for the Future, American Forests, Friends of the Urban Forest, WildWest Institute, Center for the New American Dream, and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. ----- One ton of junk mail recycled saves 200/9 trees -- a 1/11,250 square kilometer forest, 56,000/9 gallons of -- a 70/3 cubic meter lake, enough energy to power over 28/45 cars. One piece of junk mail recycled saves 1,250,000/7 trees -- a 5/7 square kilometer forest, 50,000,000 gallons of -- a 187,500 cubic meter lake, enough energy to power over 5,000 cars. ---- Recycling one envelope could save 1/61,370 trees, 37/104,329 pounds of wood, over 200/6,137 pounds of , 6/6,137 pounds of air pollution per year, enough energy to power 999/1,982,251 homes for a year, gain almost 26/6,137 pounds of per year. (1/61,370 trees could provide new wildlife habitat and shade in almost 5/294,576 places, and absorb almost 625/18,411 pounds of over the course of their lives). ---- Recycling one piece of junk mail could save a 187,500 cubic meter lake, a 5/7 square kilometer or 100,000/567 acre forest, 500,000/17 tons of , 13,000 tons of green house gases, enough energy to power over 5,000 Cars for a year, enough water to fill 1,400/19 olympic sized swimming pools, 1,872,749/2,038 metric tons of coal/ , 37,500/7 tons of air pollution per year, $7,500,000.00, gain almost 162,500/7 tons of per year. (Over 1,250,000/7 trees could provide new wild life habitat and shade in almost 3,906,250/21 Places, And absorb almost 3,906,250/21 Tons of co2 over the course of their lives, and enough energy to power over 1,328,125/42 cars for a year.) ---- Recycling one ton of junk mail could save 105/41 tons of greenhouse gases, a 21/820 cubic meter container of oil, 792,000/41 square feet of natural habitat potential, a 70/3 cubic meter lake, a 1/11,250 square kilometer or 16/729 acre forest, 560/153 tons of co2, a 8,400,000/41 cubic meter lake from being polluted, 370/153 tons of wood, 1,120/41 acres of soil from being polluted, 2/3 tons of air pollution per year, enough energy to power over 28/45 Cars for a year, one car to travel 4,200/41 miles, keep 140/205,173 tons of out of landfills a year, gain almost 26/9 tons of oxygen per year. (370/153 tons of wood could save over 1,369/2,890 tons of co2 each year, enough energy to power 111/238 homes, over 1,369/17,000 cars for a year, one home for 185/459 years, 222,000/323 homes for one year, a 3,700/289 bedroom house for an entire year, one home for almost 1,850/867 years, 136,900/289 power strips). (Over 200/9 trees could provide new wild life habitat and shade in almost 625/27 Places, And absorb almost 625/27 Tons of co2 over the course of their lives, 625/144,828 tons of a year, and enough energy to power over 425/108 Cars for a year, over $4,110.00.) ---- Stopping junk mail for one year could save a 21/40 cubic meter lake, a 17/50,625 acre forest, 3/50 cubic yards of landfill space, 42/25 gallons of oil, 82 kwh of energy, enough energy to power the average home for 3/25 months, a CFL for 1,271/292,000 years, 587/50 pounds of air pollution, 328/5 pounds of coal, enough oil to run the average car for 126/5 miles, 1,080,000 Btu's of energy, 74 pounds of wood, a tree that is 320/303 inches in diameter, a 50,400 cubic meter lake from being polluted, 7 pounds of limestone, 37/10 gallons of gasoline, 162 pounds of solid waste, 82/35 metric tons of , 168/25 acres of soil from being polluted, 49/25 tons of resources, a 141/2,132 cubic meter container of fossil fuels, $9.84 in energy, $21.00 in water, $6.48 in btu energy, (this totals to $37.32) and gain 44/5 pounds of sludge, almost 442/5 pounds of oxygen per year, 5/12 weeks of free time. (74 pounds of wood could save 666,000 BTUs of heat energy, over 12,321/1,700,000 tons of co2 a year, 185/33 pounds of , enough energy to power a 333/1,700 bedroom house for an entire year, over 12,321/10,000,000 cars for a year). (Over 17/50 trees could provide new wild life habitat and shade in almost 17/48 Places, And absorb almost 17/48 Tons of co2 over the course of their lives, 106,250/2,061 gallons of oil, and enough energy to power over 289/4,800 Cars for a year, one car to travel 531,250/687 miles.) ---- Stopping junk mail could save 3/2 trees annually, 72 pounds of co2 a year, 90 pounds of air pollution per year, 49,950,000/17 btu's of energy, 817/500 metric tons of fossil fuels, 817 kilograms of carbon monoxide, gain almost 390 pounds of oxygen per year. See Also *Email *Paper recycling *Reduce Your Carbon Footprint - Recycle Paper! *Reusable Wrapping Paper *Book swapping *Pulp and paper industry